Can someone in the know provide a summary of how Despres performed this season vs. the expectations going in? I know people liked the pick but felt he had a few weaknesses. Any updates on if those weaknesses have been addressed in any way?

It seems as though his forte is the Scuderi/Orpik type, a shutdown d-man who can hit. He posted a new high in offense this past year.

Most of you in this forum know that I have some close ties with the team.

He will be worked on in this preseason and early in the year on the power play. The goal for him is to find a d-man that can play 6-D minutes as a defensive guy while playing on special teams both on the PK and the PP. He is not good enough to be a consistent performer ES in the top 2 pairings, but take that for what you will, whether you believe me or not.

I was definitely not a fan of the pick at the time of the draft, but from what I've seen about him, he's growing on me. Hopefully he's ready to go within the next couple of years, so we're not stuck between a rock and a hard place when gogo and lovejoy's deals are up.

Froggy wrote:I was definitely not a fan of the pick at the time of the draft, but from what I've seen about him, he's growing on me. Hopefully he's ready to go within the next couple of years, so we're not stuck between a rock and a hard place when gogo and lovejoy's deals are up.

I thought it was a value pick at the time because he slipped down the draft a good bit.....but i thought the same of angelo when shero picked him and that didn't work too well.

Froggy wrote:I was definitely not a fan of the pick at the time of the draft, but from what I've seen about him, he's growing on me. Hopefully he's ready to go within the next couple of years, so we're not stuck between a rock and a hard place when gogo and lovejoy's deals are up.

I thought it was a value pick at the time because he slipped down the draft a good bit.....but i thought the same of angelo when shero picked him and that didn't work too well.

Yeah, but Angelo did help bring in Dupuis and Hossa, which was something of value at the time...

I definitely hated the pick at the time from what I saw of him and read about him back then. I'm eating my words now from what I saw this preseason of him.

My biggest concerns with him at the time of the draft had to do with his decision making skills for a faster game. Despres used to remind me of a slower reacting Ryan Whitney when I saw some of his games in the Q. Maybe that's because the game is slower there compared to the NHL, I dunno.

When I saw Despres this preseason, I was extremely impressed with his ability to read the ice and maturity level for making plays out of the defensive zone. He used the boards to make plays extremely well and had great vision for some outlet passes to the neutral zone ala Whitney/Gonchar.

There was never any question about his skating then or now. For a guy his size, he's smooth as warm butter out there. I think because of the size and skating that's where the J-bo comparisons come in.

I think he needs to develop his shot and defensive play against guys coming into the defensive zone a bit more.

I'm not sure why anyone would suggest he's a player in the Scuderi/Orpik mold. He doesn't play that roll in the QMJHL and didn't play in that capacity in either the rookie camp or the pre-season. In fact, his biggest weaknesses right now are in his own end.

Depres is cut from the same mold as Letang, although maybe a year or two behind him in development at the same age. Probably a good thing, too, since the Pens blueline looks pretty solid for the forseeable future. I'm not sure it would be wise to push his development and burn up entry-level contract years as a 7th or 8th D. He could be a nice, low-cost replacement for a traded D-man in a few years time.

Count me as another who didn't care for the pick at the time. He sure looks better now than Landon Ferraro or Carter Ashton...that's why RS is the GM and I'm on a message board.

Anyways, the thing that excites me most about Despres is his shot and his willingness to use it. I'd love to see him add a little bite to his game, but either way we have a very promising D-man in him.